Can you Hear Me?
by Myriad of Lemon Drops
Summary: She may be the only one left of her blood, she may have been forced to go under cover for the past few years, but Tsumi knew that she was strong enough to get past all this. She always finds a solution to her problems, whether in a logical manner or not; all that mattered was that she and the people she cared about were content.


**All the formal stuff:**

**Disclaimer for this fanfiction story: **_I do not own Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn, all rights belong to Amano Akira and the companies and media that she is sponsored by. I am merely taking the idea of the KHR world and its characters and moving them like puppets on strings to my heart's content._

**_New Readers:_**_ I want to thank you for taking the time to give this humble fan-fiction story a chance. Some more things to keep in mind; I'm keeping my author's notes at the bottom of each chapter and to a minimum length, if you have questions involving the story in any way, please contact me via PM. I'm tired of being careful about everything I write and trying to make sure to give as much clues as possible, so, if not a lot of details are given for a specific chapter, it's on purpose. Enjoy!_

**_Returning/Old Readers:_**_ This is the 3rd time I'm uploading this story, expect an effort to change the writing style (I'm continuously irritated by how my current style keeps leading me to dead ends.) I do apologize for my lack of updates and how it eventually led to this. It's hard to explain just how much it infuriates me that I can't type out new chapters. I really appreciate the kind and motivating reviews I've gotten for this story, and hope you bare with me!_

**Rating:** Rated T just in case for description, badly written action and violence scenes, swearing etc.

**Genre:** General (because I'm not sure if adventure really suits this story) and Family (This might change)

**Oh look! An extra option**: People who don't enjoy slow build ups can skip to Chapter TBA, where the story moves to the start of the KHR storyline! I want to hit you on the head with a paper fan for taking this option, but I know the feeling of wanting to get right into a story.

**Beta Readers**: I probably won't request for one, firstly because I'm confused about the procedure, and secondly because I don't think I will be in the position to contact them for revisions and stuff authors do with their beta readers**.**

**A/N**: Call me selfish, but I usually need at least one review a chapter to get me motivated enough to write the next one. I am writing for fun, but I need my validation too you know? : Thanks for listening~ Future A/Ns will be kept at the bottom of each chapter. Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 1: <strong>Descent<strong>

It was a perfectly normal night in Namimori, nearing nine the streets were clear of people save for the occasional strollers. The temperatures lingered around the low digits, and with the addition of wind chills it was a particularly cold night.

While the residential areas were quiet and calm, the streets making up the shopping district were another story. Many shoppers could be seen making last minute purchases, the shouts of ending sales urging them on. Amidst the shouts and bargaining of the bustling crowd, the small figure of a young girl was hardly missed as she weaved though the crowds of people before slipping away and blending into the shadows of a narrow alleyway.

The child gave a quick glance at the oblivious populace behind her, taking a second to catch her breath, before she continued running. It didn't matter at this point which direction she was headed, she just needed to get away.

She couldn't tell how long she had ran for, but judging by the growing ache in her ankles, she must have ran a fair distance. Still, for insurance, the child dismissed the pain her protesting legs were giving her and persisted running. She ignored the growing heaviness of fatigue settling onto her leg and making her feel as if she was running in water; it was still too soon to stop and relax, she had to continue moving.

Horrified shudders ran through her tiny body as she remembered the events that occurred merely two hours ago. Her parents were dead; that had been the only thing to register in her mind at the time. Now however, the reality of her situation was beginning to settle onto her.

Tsumi was a smart child; she knew her chances of staying alive were slim at best if she didn't find shelter and nourishment soon. The image of a burning house came into mind. The girl quickly dispersed the memory. She would survive the coming winter; she would overcome the struggles to come in future years if it meant staying alive and having another chance to encounter those men again. The sudden pain from having bitten the inside of her cheek brought her back to her senses.

It was easier said than done, it was best to address the most pressing matter for now. She had nowhere to go back to and with the winter season approaching, the nights were only going to get colder. As if to laugh at her misery, a sudden gust of cold air swept by, teasing her body with its chill. The girl shivered before halting in her tracks to take in her current surroundings; she noticed that she was facing a forked road; looking ahead she could see two paths branching out into the darkness.

Neither of the paths looked like a promising route to take and her indecision only added to the stress she was being held under. Deciding to take her chances, Tsumi randomly selected a path and ran in that direction, hoping fervently that nothing else would go wrong that night.

A few moments passed in silence, where the only noise she heard came from her own labored breathing and the noise from her footsteps. Minutes later the girl slowed down to a light trot seeing something in the distance. From what Tsumi could make out from the limited light she was given, she'd come across a curve along the path.

As she neared the bend, Tsumi noticed a thin sliver of light coming from up ahead. Her heart thumped loudly as she walked closer and closer to the source of the light. Excitement built up inside her, providing some warmth against the cold. Perhaps she would find help soon! With new found hope, the girl turned the corner of the street; only to come face to face with the cold blank stare of a tall metal fence.

She wanted to laugh out hysterically, so much for an escape route. The light she found out was coming from a street lamp on the other side of the lattice styled fence. With nothing else to do and not wanting to give in to her building distress, Tsumi did a quick inspection of the area she was in, trying to find out where she currently was. The fence she noticed was surrounded by many wooden crates stacked upon each other, forming a makeshift pyramid-like structure.

She decided to take a closer look at the crates mentally putting together the odds of the objects being able to withhold her weight and thus allowing her to climb them. She was so engrossed in her examination that she didn't notice the quiet, barely distinguishable sound of footsteps in the area behind her.

When Tsumi finally took into notice the quiet sound of footsteps as they barely revealed themselves to her ears, her body immediately tensed up. Tsumi found herself frozen in her spot as she was too scared to move. She was in an area where nobody frequented regularly, surely no one followed her? She was too worn-out to run any longer. It might have all been in her head, she decided after several seconds of silence. A trick of her mind to scare her; she had always been a little too imaginative for her own good. Some people say paranoia was not the best habit to have, but in a dangerous situation it could very well be the extra precaution needed to save your live. Besides, she thought grimly, it was not paranoia if there was a real fear of death.

Her heartbeat drummed rapidly against her chest as she took cautious steps back towards the direction she came from. Her legs felt like lead as she fought hard not to think about the consequences of being caught by _them_**. **Death would be the last thing she needed to worry about after all that she'd done to aggravate them.

Her hands clenched into tight fists as the memory of her fleeing from the murder scene lingered in her mind. It was too late to turn back now. Her footsteps slowed to a stop. Now was not the right time to think of them; she would reflect on tonight's events after finding a place to stay for the last few hours of darkness. Right now her main priority was to find her way back to an area she was familiar with. Clearing her mind of anymore unnecessary thoughts, the girl started walking once more, only to come to an abrupt stop.

She felt her heart speed up in apprehension; she'd been engrossed in her musings but the anxiousness that flooded her emotions as a result of the voice in the back of her mind made her rethink, the footsteps she'd heard earlier had started again. Then she had not been overly paranoid? She'd never thought there would be a day where she would hope so much for something to be a figment of her imagination. All of a sudden, it became clear to her. With a sinking heart, she realized that she had never actually escaped from her pursuers. The entire time they had been only playing with her, their prey. It wasn't her thinking too much into the situation. Somehow she just knew that was exactly what had happened.

And she knew what would happen next if nothing was done, they were going to kill her, just like they did her parents.

_-She saw her parents; alive, they were talking to her with eyes twinkling with pride and happiness; suddenly their faces turned deathly pale, eyes now glassed over and devoid of any warmth. Lifeless-_

Hidden emotions that refused to show themselves earlier in the evening started to surface; tears started forming and threatened to fall from her eyes. Aware of how near her parent's murderers now were, she wiped her tears on her sleeve hastily, determined not to show any weakness. Feeling her resolve harden, the girl braced herself for what she knew would come. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as she stared out into the night. They were not going to take her down easily.

-cyhm- -cyhm- -cyhm-

From their place in the shadows, the men stepped out, making their presence known. The predatory looks the men were giving her made her feel uneasy.

The leader smirked as he took in his target's appearance. The clouds had faded just enough for some moonlight to filter through, letting him see the child's small figure in more detail. He was now finally able put a face to the brat, having last seen him in the darkness of his house. He looked the child over with practiced ease; he liked to be able to think back to how his victims looked like, burning the memories of pain filled faces into his head simply delighted him.

His nose twitched in revulsion as he took into notice the dirtied appearance of the boy, the sweater and jeans the brat was wearing were tattered and ripped in various places. He felt a small feeling of glee from this, knowing he was the one who'd done that to the brat. Putting the boy's clothed state aside he could just see the child in a few years time; fairly short, brunet hair swaying gently in the wind, with innocent brown eyes enhanced by a creamy complexion; it was a shame he was male. Although the child's gender wouldn't matter that much he supposed, he personally knew many people in his line of work that would pay top price for an unpolished jewel like this one.

It was unfortunate that he was required to kill all witnesses that happen to be at the scene of the crime. He thought back to his orders, hadn't his boss ask something else of him, one of his long standing requests? Ah yes, he had been ordered to "Invite" some boys for his boss to have some fun with. This was perfect, a better fate for the brat than being tortured by him.

The boy deserved it, having made him waste more time than he had intended. All the anticipation that has built up over the course of his choice cat and mouse game had all be dissipated. His only regret now was not being able to witness the moment when the brat would be defied, only the people closest to his boss had that particular pleasure.

All he had to do now was to make sure that the brat would stay still and let his men capture him. He allowed himself a small chuckle for his ingenious before advancing towards the child, his plan in place.

-cyhm- cyhm –cyhm-

Now that they were out of the darkness of the shadows, she was able to faintly make out the silhouettes of what appeared to be three grown men. They were all of a tall build; none of them looked to be shorter than six feet. This only served to make them look more menacing as the men walked towards her. One of the men let out a low chuckle that sent shivers down her body; he looked like the leader of the three, being taller and sturdier than the rest.

Despite the fear she felt from being in the presence of the killers once again, the child tried to put on a mask of indifference. Thinking over her decision, Tsumi decided that charging in on a suicide attempt didn't look like such a tempting idea after all; but if she was to do something, she couldn't let her emotions ruin her chances of escaping. Another quick scan of the area with her eyes brought back nothing she'd missed; there was a fence behind along with those scattered crates, as wells as the three murderers that were blocking the only route back to civilization.

In the span of one thought to the next, Tsumi found her hands clamped together by the large ones of the leader, who had crossed the short distance to the girl in under five seconds. She was too shocked to even notice the pain she was in, too shocked to let out a yelp of surprise; it was all she could do to just stare at her captor with wide eyes.

A growl came from the man making her tense and brace herself to be struck, the killer seemed to have other ideas however as he leaned and whispered into her ear. With each promise of violence on her person should she try anything, the fear in her grew stronger.

She couldn't stop shuddering at the images that his threats brought to her mind. How could a person be so cruel? Once again, she could feel tears forming in her eyes. How dare that man bring up the death of her parents? She tried to keep the tears from falling by blinking feverishly, knowing it was what the killer wanted to see; self contempt filled her as she felt the tears trickle down her face. This seemed to annoy the leader rather than add to his smugness, as he sighed, and reached into the side pocket of his pants. Being restrained, there was not much she could do but observe his actions.

She hadn't noticed before, but the man was dressed rather formally. He was wearing a black suit clad with an obsidian tie over a red undershirt. He was also wearing silver earrings of some sort which glistened in the moonlight. Her eyes travelled to his scarred face, shuddering at the sight. The man's eyes were slightly slanted; his iris seemed to be of a murky brown colour. Everything the man wore complemented his hair, which was red; the shade of blood. Goosebumps ran through her body as she took in the man as a whole; with the luminous light of the moon casting shadows over his features, the man looked like a demon.

Somewhere in the deep subconscious of her mind, together with the faint memories of being a toddler, Tsumi remembered seeing similarly dressed men in her house once before. They hadn't looked as intimidating as these men, but they all looked grave and gave the impression of people who held no tolerance for nonsense. She was able to recall the events of that particular day quite well. It had been the first time she had seen her father look so serious. She remembered the person she called father send her mother and her out to buy groceries soon after the first guest had arrived and his agitated face when he realized that she had seen the men.

Tsumi hadn't been able to understand at that time, why hadn't he wanted her to greet the visitors? She had been taught by her mother to always be polite to guests. Thinking back to those days, she now knew; her father didn't want her to be frightened.

As if the reality had finally sank in, the girl realized that she wasn't ever going to see her father again; she would never again be able to experience the warmth that each of her mother's smiles brought, the hugs and kisses that brought her so much joy were never to be received again. This time she could not hold back the sob that escaped her body. Another followed, and another until she was crying. She detested this fault of hers, once she started crying, she would not able to stop for some time. This did not sit well with the leader apparently, as he had finally found what he was searching for and pointed the object at the weeping girl.

-cyhm- -cyhm- -cyhm-

The sobbing mess of a child was almost degrading to look at; it made him question why he didn't just kill the brat to begin with. In his opinion, men weren't supposed to show their emotions externally, even if the male in question looked barely old enough to be in school.

He pulled out the silver revolver that he kept in the side pocket of his pants, it was his favourite one to use in situations where he was required to kill; any blood that landed on it would easily wash off. He had made sure to order an unregistered revolver; he wouldn't want the civilian police to get involved. Too much bloodshed wasn't always the best solution to things.

There was one thing that was bothering him at the moment; he was sure that his boss had only told him to kill the married couple. Their file labelled them of having no children whatsoever. Who was the brat then? At the question, a scheming smirk appeared on face. The child could have simply been there at the wrong place, at the wrong time; a neighbour's kid perhaps. So if the brat were to disappear, sure there would be disappearance flyers for some time, but eventually people would give up. Even if he were to sell the child off, no one would think to continue the chase for too long. He wasn't under the obligation to act on his boss's request any time soon, besides he was getting a little short on spending money at the moment.

He looked at the brat again; the boy seemed to be too caught up in his sobs to notice the glare that was being pointed his way. It came down to three choices; bring the child to his boss, sell him, or kill him. He was tempted to kill the boy, to stop his noisy blubbering if nothing else, but his love for cash overwhelmed his annoyance by just a little more. Besides, he couldn't resist an opportunity to earn money, and this way the brat would meet the same fate he deserved anyway. This was mainly the reason why he never got promoted to a higher position; his decisions could be easily persuaded with the right sum of cash.

Thinking back, one of his clients had asked him for a child; a child that he would soon have in his possession. The only problem was making the child let down his defence long enough for him to coax him into his trap. The man brainstormed for a moment before coming to a conclusion. Yes, that would do, he could use the normal method to capture the boy; next thing he knew, he would have drugged the child and sold him overseas. With no hesitation, or any second thoughts on how his decision would affect the child's life, he commenced his plan.

-cyhm- -cyhm- -cyhm-

Chocolate brown eyes widened in shock and realization as Tsumi took in the sight of the revolver. At that moment she finally realized just how close she was to death, which wasn't to say that she hadn't been taking this situation seriously, but up to that moment, there had always been a small window of escape. That small reassurance had been what kept her behind the line of hysteria, but now it really seemed like she was cornered. A gun was not a toy you could play with, even if there was a chance given to her, she would only have the time frame of about five seconds before the first gunshot was fired.

What about her father, she thought suddenly. Tsumi had to stop a exasperated sigh from escaping, why was it always in the most uncalled for of situations that her thoughts decide to connect things together? Although now that she was on the topic, she had to wonder, did he kill people too? She had never tried to think too much into what he did in his line of profession. The girl's thoughts shot back to her memory of her father; she had never really looked under his cheerful façade.

Tsumi managed to calm down enough after that minute of thinking that she now only let out the occasional sniffles. Was this it? Was this her time to die? Wasn't this what you wanted, a small voice from the back of her mind seemed to clip out. Was it Tsumi wondered, she didn't know what she wanted anymore. If she died, she was sure she would join her parents, but she knew they wouldn't approve if she died just to see them again.

What she needed right now was some extra time to think, of course with that gun still being pointed at her, she really shouldn't be contemplating what she wanted in life. Tsumi opened her mouth to say something, anything. She just needed to stall for some time to think up a plan. Unfortunately, it seemed like her mouth had gone numb for a while, as the words that came out of her mouth weren't discernible. For a second, heavy mortification filled seemed to fill her very being, did those awful sounds really just come from her mouth? Fortunately she was spared from reflecting on her moment of idiocy when the killer decided to grace her with his voice yet again.

"Not another word young lady."

Tsumi felt it smart not to point out that she technically hadn't said anything yet. '_Focus, he just gave me the extra time I wanted!_' The girl forced herself to look at the leader, whose hand clutched the gun that was currently aimed at her forehead.

'_Wait...what about?'_ A quick glance told her all she needed to know, her hands were free! Tsumi gave herself another round of mental berating for that, why hadn't she noticed the lack of contact, all those precious minutes, wasted! She now had more space to work with though, the knowledge brought the ghost of a smile to her lips; her percentage of surviving this just went up.

The man holding the gun must have noticed her scheming expression, as she soon heard his voice rudely interrupting her from her thoughts.

"I wonder…can you keep a secret?"

Inwardly Tsumi praised herself for reading that book about analyzing faces and body language, as she immediately sensed that something was off about the man. His facial expression wasn't of a man nervous about confiding in someone, it was of a sly manipulator who had gotten away with using the same poor tactic one time too many. Also, if the change in his tone hadn't indicated that something was amiss, he had lowered his weapon of all things! Tsumi hated how he thought her so unperceptive that he thought just changing demeanors would make her lose her guard. The man had proven to her that he was someone who would lie, even kill to get to his objective. He spoke again, this time in a voice so silky, so velvety that it made her want to hurl.

"I'm sorry; you were running away so fast that I had to stop you somehow!" He said while flashing an apologetic grin in her direction.

She had to admit, if he wasn't dressed in such a shady way and wielding a gun, he would have passed for a normal person. It was this very fact that sent goose bumps through her body. It frightened her to know that people were able to look so naïve and carefree, yet be hiding such evil intentions at the same time.

"You see," the man started again, his facial features softened by a small smile. "I was a good friend of your parents."

"Liar!" the words had left her before she could stop herself. '_Stupid, I should have restrained myself, I'm smarter than this. Even if the words he spouts out are rubbish and lies; I should have just played along!'_ She snapped out of her self-bashing thoughts when she heard a chuckle. The girl looked up to see the man laughing. She knew he was only acting that way; his apparent mirth never reached his eyes.

"Haha! I guess I do look a little scary." He said, keeping a smile on his face the whole time, as if to reinforce the fact that he meant her no harm.

"You see, I knew your father from our high school days." The man's face took on a wistful look, "he and I were the best of friends."

When she didn't make any move to interrupt, the man continued. "In fact, we had fought over your mother's hand in marriage once upon a time; of course, as you can see, your daddy was the better man."

Again Tsumi was reminded of the things acting could do. She really loathed the man in front of her; he killed her parents, taking away any future she had with them, and lied to her about them. She felt deep hatred stir inside her.

"Your father let me be his best man at his wedding, which means I'm your godfather."

How dare he? Words couldn't even start to describe the resentment she was feeling for the man right now. Unconsciously she let out a low growl akin to that of an angered animal.

The man flinched and recoiled slightly from instinct, yet the warning wasn't enough to faze him from continuing on with whatever he was trying to do "Should anything happen to your parents, I was to take custody of you."

Barely restraining her anger from surfacing, it was all she could do to utter one sentence. "So, you want me to live with you?"

The man seemed to have taken her quiet tone as hopefulness and acceptance, as when he answered, he sounded much more relaxed. "Yes, my child; you won't have to worry about your daddy and mommy any more, I will take care of you."

She saw red. With a roar of anger Tsumi charged towards the man and kicked him as hard as she could; knowing that as a child she couldn't do much damage, she kicked him again for good measure. She didn't care where she was hitting, as long as she could make the man feel some pain. The girl heard a thud as the man's gun was knocked out of his hands and onto the pavement.

There was a sudden movement in her peripheral vision which made her take on a defensive position, she crossed her arms together bringing them towards her face, and braced herself for the blow she knew would come. All Tsumi got in return for her troubles was a faint groan. She allowed herself a peek at the man and was surprised to find him crouching on the ground; his hands cupped around his privates.

She stood up, contemplating whether to stick around or run away. Had she hit a pressure point? It was strange; none of the books she had read told her about this. It seemed like there were still quite a lot of holes within her knowledge, more research was definitely needed. The self preservative part of her consciousness urged the girl to run away lest something happen, yet the knowledge seeking part of her wanted to find out how she managed to make a full grown man fall to his knees.

Tsumi was still deep in thought, torn between fleeing and satisfying her curiosity when she felt a faint buzz and intense heat as something whizzed pass her cheek. Immediately alert, the girl looked around, trying to find the source of what caused the object. Her eyes took on the sight of two fairly pissed off men glaring at her. Both of them had their guns out.

She felt cold dread creep through her skin. '_Shit, I've forgotten about them._' She was in trouble. The frightened child tried to back away slowly; it didn't help that her breathing was becoming more and more panicked the closer the men inched towards her.

_'I'll just keep on backing up_', she decided; she'll run away from these men as soon as an opportunity presented itself.

Unfortunately, fate did not seem to favour her tonight, as Tsumi could now see three armed men advancing towards her; the leader had arisen and joined his lackeys.

-cyhm- -cyhm- -cyhm-

To say that he was angry was an understatement. He was furious. How dare that good for nothing boy kick him where it counted? Never mind the money the child could bring him; he had never felt more embarrassed in his life. There was just one thing he placed before money, and that was his pride and dignity.

The brat would not die a quick death, no; he would personally make sure that it would be as prolonged and painful as possible. With this in mind, he picked his revolver off the ground and pocketed it. He then stood up and shifted into an offensive stance, secretly making the signal for his men to attack.

-cyhm- -cyhm- -cyhm-

Tsumi was petrified with fear. She was going to die as soon as those men reached her, it was practically guaranteed now that they had the odds of numbers in their favor, and she was also close to just slumping down on the ground with how tired she felt. She looked around her frantically, searching for anything that could help her survive. Her eyes fell upon the stack of boxes in the distance that were placed near the chained fence. If only she could climb over those…

Tsumi racked her brain trying to formulate a plan on the spot. It was thanks to her love of tactical thinking and her practice for such stressful situations that she soon had one thought out, all she needed now was a distraction. A quick glance at her enemies told the girl that the men were nearing her at a rapid pace; she only had seven seconds at best to commence her plan.

'_If anything goes wrong, I blame my curiosity.' _Taking a deep breath, Tsumi closed her eyes and quickly started clearing her mind; not daring to spare a look at the men she knew was in front of her her. She concentrated, trying to send out the distress signals she had practiced so hard on.

When three excruciating long seconds had passed and she hadn't received any feedback, Tsumi started panicking. It was just her luck that the only time her message hadn't been received would be the moment she needed it to the most. One more look at the advancing party of men told her that they were now literally a step from reaching her; less than a meter away.

It was all or nothing, time seemed to slow down to a sluggish speed as she pivoted around and sprinted towards the metal fence. Cringing a bit when the gunshots started, she ignored them as best as she could, running in a serpent like pattern in an attempt to avoid the bullets.

Tsumi quickly began climbing the boxes, knowing that the men were right behind her. It was when she finally reached the crate towering over the top of the fence that the struggle had begun. Each breath she took hurt, she could hardly stay conscious through the pounding headache that was coming in.

All she needed to do was to get down from the top of the fence to the other side; should she manage it, she would have gotten some time to make a getaway. _'Only how?_' was the swirling thought in her head. She had been so intent on escaping the men, that she gave no thought on how she would descend from such a great height. The other side had nothing. With a long drop down and no crates to be used as stepping stones, the thought of climbing over did not sound so appealing any more. There were hardly any hand holds she could make use of, and in her current condition, she didn't think she could make it even if there was.

Tsumi cursed, using terms she learned from past ventures to some well frequented internet cafes, words spewing out while her thoughts raced. _'Should I risk jumping down_?' echoed inside her mind. As she was contemplating her predicament, unassumingly, a hand forcefully grabbed her leg and began to pull her back towards the men.

-cyhm- -cyhm- -cyhm-

With his men right behind him, he started after the retreating figure of the child. Briefly puzzling over why the boy had closed his eyes at that moment. He gestured his men to start firing the warning shots, hoping they would scare the kid enough for them to capture him. He really despised exerting more energy than he thought required to complete his jobs.

A glance at the brat told him that the boy had been climbing the crates and was now nearing the top of the fence. With a sigh, the man sprinted the last few meters separating him from the child, effortlessly climbed the stacks of crates, and grasped the left leg of the boy; fully intent on pulling the kid down.

He was going through a mental list of torture methods to use on the child when he felt a dull pain on his right cheek. He looked up, to see a struggling boy. Why couldn't he just let go of the damn fence? With an exasperated roll of his eyes, the man gave the boy's leg another hard yank; only to receive yet another kick to his cheek. That had hurt, and what was that sound?

He looked to the ground below him, looking for whatever had caused the noise. Squinting with his eyes a glint in his field of vision led him to look to his right, near the feet of one of his men. He could only just make out the outline of the item, with the moon's illumination being blocked by clouds once more. Thinking the object to be something of low significance, the man turned his attention to the struggling child yet again.

He didn't notice the object getting picked up by one of his minions; he did however hear their shout of surprise.

"Hey boss! I think you dropped one of your earrings!"

His eyes widened for the briefest of seconds. _'He couldn't have…' _Quickly he checked his ears, to find only one of his earrings intact. That did it. Those earrings had cost him a fortune!_ 'More than the brat's life will ever be worth.'_

With a roar of anguish, the man brought out his revolver and aimed it at the back of the resisting boy's head; the brat wouldn't know what hit him. His face contorted into a deformed smile as he anticipated for the moment when the bullet would pierce his prey's head.

He supposed he should thank the numerous scars that decorated his face, as they had given him the nickname he was now known as; _Katawa no oni_, Deformed Demon. People named him for the way his scars would distort his grin that appeared whenever he killed.

The man pulled the hammer of the revolver, rotating the cylindrical block inside it. He fingered the trigger; how he _loved_ the rush of adrenaline that overflowed him every time he took a life.

-cyhm- -cyhm- -cyhm-

The things that happened next occurred so quickly that Tsumi would later recall being able to see only blurred images. As she was being pulled down, she had fought back and felt one of her legs brush up against something. Someone shouted a sentence she couldn't make out in the background and she felt the hand clutching her left leg tighten. The girl turned her head to the side, trying to get a gist of what was happening. She was treated to the picture of a crazed man pointing a revolver at her.

She couldn't help it, with a strangled yelp of surprise; she started fighting against the man's grip on her imprisoned leg. She needed to get away.

Everything was hurting. Through her jagged breathing, Tsumi could feel her captor's fingers digging deep into the skin of her heel. The fact that she was barely conscious and thus not able to keep track of her surroundings only made the situation that much more frustrating.

Why? Why did this have to happen to her? It was supposed to be just another normal day; all she had wanted was to see her parent's proud faces!

Not for the first time that night, she shook her head; she was usually quite organized with her thoughts. With what remained of her strength, Tsumi swung her restrained leg, freeing it and somehow managed to pull herself back to the top of the fence. As long as she made it over, surely her odds of finding safety would increase? Adrenaline was the only thing keeping her conscious at the moment, and if this didn't work…

The strained girl barely registered the sound of a trigger being pulled, when she slipped and became aware of herself falling.

The last thing she saw was of blurred figures swiftly tackling her assaulter down the stack of crates. She realized that her signal got intercepted in time after all.

With a relieved sigh, the abused child let the merciful haze of unconsciousness envelope her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Well there you go; this chapter won't be getting anymore revisions for a while! I've lost track of the total amount of times I went through this chapter -

Please leave a review on your way out J


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